Discussion on Movie vs Book

"From ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken

The crownless again shall be king."

The Fellowship of the Ring

Although the movie The Fellowship of the Ring followed closley to the book, there still were some important differences that should be noted as well as some important scenes that should have been added.

Frodo and the Ring

In the movie, Frodo stops by the Prancing Pony, but he has to be carefull that he doesn't give away his identity. The ring accidently slips on his finger when he trips and falls and he vanishes. In the book, this scene is much more funny. The ring slips on his finger when he jumps off the table due to the fact that he had too many beers and was singing a version of the Hey Diddle Diddle. As he falls to the floor, the ring slips onto his finger and he suddenly vanishes.

Arwen vs Glorfindel

In the movie, Arwen gallops on her horse and takes Frodo to Rivendell before he falls to the darkness. On the way she is chased by the Ringwraiths, until she reaches the river. In the book, Arwen did not rescue Frodo. It was another elf named Glorfindel. Glorfindel set Frodo on his horse and the horse carried Frodo to saftey.

Pippin and the Skeleton

In the movie, Pippin awakes the shadows when he accidently knocks over a skeleton into the well. In the book, he throws a rock down the well on purpose due to his curiosity.

Frodo Says Goodbye to Aragorn

In the movie, After Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo,Frodo runs into Aragorn. He tells Aragorn that the ring will eventually tempt all of the fellowship, and that he must leave and take the ring to Mordor himself. In the book however, everyone except for Sam have no idea where Frodo disapeared to.

Boromir's Death

At the end of the movie, Boromir dies a valient death. In the book, Boromir does not die untill the second book.

Where is Tom Bombadil?

As many of the readers who saw the movie know, Tom Bombadil was not in the movie. Tom should have been included. He had a very important part in the book, and he was such a lovable character. He helped the hobbits escape from their first crisis; when Merry and Pippin got stuck inside the Willow tree. He helped them along when they first started off. "I kept him in, and as he was, because he represents certain things otherwise left out." J.R.R. Tolkien.

Galadriel's Gifts

In the book, Galadriel gave each member of the fellowship a gift. This part was not done well in the movie. It is a very important part because her gifts have several important uses throughout all three books. Galadriel gives Frodo a crystal phial that held the light of Earendil's star. Frodo uses this to see in dark places and to scar off enemies later on. She gives Sam a box of earth which later on helps replenish the scorched shrire in the end of the third book. They were also given a rope made by elves which they later used to tame Gollum. If you buy the extended DVD however, you will see this important part.

The Two Towers

The second movie,The Two Towers followed less closley to the book then the Fellowship did. There are some important differences that should be noted as well as some important scenes that should have been added.

Was Arwen Suppose to be in the Movie?

Those who have read the Trilogy know that Arwen was hardly mentioned in the second book and wonder why she is in the movie. However, if they would have read the appendix in the back of The Return of the King, they would find the love story of Arwen and Aragorn. Although this is not in the second book, the director took in out of Apendix A (v) and put it in to add to the love triangle in The Two Towers. Although some of it was exaggerated, it followed closly.

Hobbits Escape From the Orcs

In the movie, an Orc chases Merry and Pippin into Fagorn Forest and it was about to kill Merry when all of a sudden an Ent killed the Orc. In the book, the Hobits snuck away from the Orcs and were not chased by any. The Ent Treebeard did not rescue the Hobbits from the orc who chased them into the forest.

Hasty Ents

In the movie, the Ents decide that they were not going to war, that is until Treebeard saw what had happened to Isenguard. In the book, The Ents willingly decided that they would fight.

Aragorn Takes a Fall

Ok, the whole Warg scene with Aragorn falling off the cliff in the movie DID NOT happen in the book. Aragorn never falls off the cliff into a river. He never hears Arwen speaking to him after he his swept onto the shore. This is not in the book, it was probably added to the movie for effects.

Haldir's Death

First of all, in the movie, the elves come to Helms Deep to help fight. They are not at Helms Deep in the book. In the Movie, we were all sad to see Haldir die. Haldir is the kind of character that grows on you and the scene was very dramatic and sad. Haldir however does not die at Helms Deep in the book.

Eomer Fights at Helms Deep

In the Movie, Eomer was sent away from Edoras and does not show up to fight at Helms Deep until he arrives with Gandalf. In the book, Eomer fights with Aragorn during the whole battle at Helms Deep

Wormtounge Comes to the Aid of Saruman

In the movie, after Wormtounge leaves Edoras, he comes to the aid of Saruman before the Ents attack Isenguard. In the book, he does not arrive until after the Ents attack Isenguard.

Frodo and Sam Fight

In the Movie, Frodo gets into a fight with sam about the Ring and Frodo puts sting up to Sam's throat. It reveals a dark side of Frodo and is suspensfull to watch. This scene however is not in the book. It was added to express how much Frodo is changing.

Sam to the Rescue Again

In the Movie, Frodo is at Gondor and he stands in front of a flying Ringwraith. He seems to be in a dark trance and almost puts the Ring on his finger until Sam pushes him out of harms way. Yet another very dramatic scene that is not in the book.

The Voice of Saruman

This is one of the scenes left out of the movie that I feel should have been added, but due the length of the movie I understand why it was cut. In this chapter of the book, Gandalf, Aragorn and Gimli meet up with the Hobbits at Isenguard and Gandalf confronts Saruman. He reveals himself to Saruman as Gandalf the White. Saruman is revealed as corrupted and weak in this chapter and I feel that it is important to the story.

Pippin and the Plantir

This is another one of those chapters that was left out of the movie. It is a fun chapter. Pippin steals the plantir of Isenguard from Gandalf when everyone is asleep. He is tempted by it and looks into it, revealing himself to the Eye. Like I said, I am sad that it was not added to the movie due to the lenght of it. Hmmm, wonder if it will be in the extended DVD.

Shelob

Ok, those of us who saw the Two Towers were shocked to see the movie cut off the part where Gollum leads the Hobbits to Shelob. Oh man another cliff hanger! Although this scene is in the second book, it won't be shown until the third movie.